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“Nice For What” Proved That Drake Would Be Unstoppable In 2018

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Even after Pusha T‘s near-fatal diss record “The Story Of Adidon,” 2018 was Drake’s year. Despite the G.O.O.D. Music president’s scathing diss, Drake was able to limp away from a beef that would’ve decimated most artists’ album rollouts and release the now five-times platinum album Scorpion. Drake’s ability to unleash such a commercial juggernaut can of course be attributed to his enormous celebrity, but Scorpion‘s two lead single had a lot to do with its success as well. The now-diamond single “God’s Plan” was the Hip-Hop community’s first taste of Drake‘s fifth studio album, but “Nice For What,” while not as huge as “God’s Plan,” still commanded its own moment in Hip-Hop history.

Released on April 6, 2018, “Nice For What” celebrates its three-year anniversary this week as a five-times platinum single and Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper. The song featured an infectious New Orleans bounce as well as an unforgettable Lauryn Hill sample, and combined with its woman-empowering lyrics, Drake had himself another huge hit on his hands. In addition to the song being an undeniable bop, the music video for “Nice For What” was what truly made the single stand out in Drake’s 2018 rollout for Scorpion. The gorgeous star-studded visuals featured cameos from famous women such as Misty Copeland, Issa Rae, Rashida Jones, Tracee Ellis Ross, Syd, Tiffany Haddish, Yara Shahidi, and Letitia Wright, among several others.

Revisit Drake’s “Nice For What” by watching its music video below.

Quotable Lyrics

I’ve been peepin’ what you bringin’ to the table
Workin’ hard, girl, everything paid for
First-last, phone bill, car note, cable
With your phone out, gotta hit them angles
With your phone out, snappin’ like you Fabo

Netflix’s “Monster” Trailer With Nas & A$AP Rocky Is Here

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We’ve seen A$AP Rocky touch the big screen on a few occasions in the past. DOPE became his breakout moment in the world of film but it also became his sole acting endeavor. However, fans have been anticipating the release of the film Monster since it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and finally, it will be hitting Netflix next month.

A trailer for the film, executive produced by Swizz Beatz, Nas, and Jeffrey Wright, was released this week which gave fans a glimpse of the upcoming legal drama. Nas and Rocky also make appearances in the film’s trailer which shows the rap legend as an inmate and the Harlem artist as a William King. 

Aside from Nas and Rocky, other stars in the film include Kelvin Harrison Jr. who takes on the leading role of Steve Harmon, Jennifer Hudson as Mrs. Hudson, and Jeffrey Wright as Mr. Harmon. 

Per Netflix, the story of the film, which is an adaption of Walter Dean Myers’ novel of the same name, revolves around a 17-year-old honors student from Harlem, Steve Harmon, who ends up being convicted of felony murder.

“I’m excited to share this beautiful, emotional, and important story with you all,” John Legend wrong upon unveiling the trailer.

Monster debuts on Netflix on May 7th. Will you be watching?

Police Are Reportedly Reviewing Comments From Southside After Kodak Black’s Security Guard Was Shot

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Getty Image

It was reported earlier this week that Kodak Black’s security guard was shot in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Florida. The event is still pretty fresh, so it’s currently under investigation and TMZ is reporting that according to law enforcement sources, the shooting was a targeted hit on Black. Furthermore, police are apparently investigating some threats to Black’s life made online, and that includes comments made by Southside.

Over the weekend, Southside got on Instagram Live and shared a message directed at Black, saying, “Yak, you still a b*tch. We can bump, too. I’ll be back in Miami in a week. Pull up wherever, we can bump. Don’t bring no security.” That comment was seemingly a response to Black mentioning Yung Miami, Southside’s girlfriend who Black dated before he went to prison, on Instagram Live.

In regards to the shooting, there are reportedly no officially named suspects in the shooting at the moment and the investigation is ongoing.

In March, Southside was arrested in Miami on firearms charges and for knowingly driving with a suspended license. Meanwhile, Southside recently declared that he’s considering retiring from producing after the release of the next 808 Mafia project, saying, “Just kno this album is going to be great. I’m still gone lead for the culture, I’m still gone try to put new producers on, but as a producer, I’m throwing the towel in after this album.”

Spillage Village’s ‘Baptized’ Remix Adds Fiery Verses From Deante’ Hitchcock, IDK, And Flatbush Zombies

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Atlanta rap supergroup Spillage Village had one of the best albums of 2020 in Spilligion, and today, they took a huge step in extending its shelf life, releasing a remixed version of the album’s second single “Baptize.” The new version adds a who’s-who of the group members’ favorite collaborators, including Deante’ Hitchcock, who contributes the verse from his #NewAtlantaTuesdays freestyle over the beat, IDK, and Flatbush Zombies to turn the introspective track into a full-blown posse cut of cerebral rhymes and complex cadences. Group member Hollywood JB also makes an appearance to help keep the Spillage crew’s presence strong.

While the original version of the song focuses heavily on religious imagery as a lens through which to make sense of the global turmoil at the time of the album’s creation, the new version mostly does away with the framing devices, allowing the guest rappers to right down to the nitty-gritty. While Hitchcock spits socio-political commentary, IDK boasts of his off-season accomplishments and wonders if he should forego meetings with Netflix to work with HBO. Juice and Erick of Flatbush Zombies bat cleanup, preaching self-reliance and optimism to cope with the issues plaguing the world.

Listen to Spillage Village’s “Baptized” remix featuring Deante Hitchcock’, IDK, and Flatbush Zombies above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Key Witness Doesn’t Want To Testify In Derek Chauvin Trial

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Morries Hall, a key witness in the trial of Derek Chauvin, is threatening to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination because his lawyer argues that any statement about his alleged drug activity with George Floyd could possibly lead to him being charged with third-degree murder in Floyd’s death.


Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Hall was in the car with Floyd the day he died. The currently incarcerated man appeared at a court hearing via Zoom on Tuesday morning. His attorney stated that Hall has no immunity from the prosecution for the testimony about Hall and Floyd’s behavior while seated in a Mercedes Benz SUV before the police arrived and arrested Floyd. 

During his opening statement, Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, told the jury they would hear from Hall, who had been identified as an alleged drug dealer from whom Floyd purchased drugs. 

“This will include evidence that while they were in the car, Mr. Floyd consumed what were thought to be two Percocet [painkiller] pills,” Nelson said during his opening statement, naming Hall and Shawanda Hill, Floyd’s former girlfriend, as passengers in the SUV with Floyd outside the Cup Foods prior to police arriving on the scene.

The police were called to the store after Floyd allegedly used a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes. 


Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

“Mr. Floyd’s friends will explain that Mr. Floyd fell asleep in the car and that they couldn’t wake him up to get going, that they thought the police might be coming because now the store [employees] were coming out,” Nelson said.

Nelson is undermining the primary allegation that Chavin killed Floyd by planting his knee in Floyd’s neck. Instead, the defense argues that a combination of the drugs fentanyl and methamphetamine is the main contributor to Floyd’s death. 

We will keep you updated as the trial continues. 

[via]

Dave Chappelle Denies Obama’s Team Left “Dirty Notes” For Trump

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Rumors plagued the Obama team after it was reported that aides of the former president left dirty notes for the then-incoming Trump administration. It was denied by Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice but still, the rumors continued to spiral throughout the Internet. However, it seems that we have an independent third-party who can confirm that it was not President Obama but rather, celebrities who loathed Trump’s arrival to the White House.


ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Dave Chappelle recently sat down with Naomi Campbell for the one-year anniversary of her online series, No Filter. Both the comedian and the model reminisced about their trip to White House during Obama’s final days of presidency. “It was funny. We went to the White House, I forgot ID which is like a no-no in the White House. But the Secret Service was like, ‘We, we know who you are,'” said Chappelle. “The Secret Service said, ‘See you next time, Dave.’ I said, ‘Yep, see you next Black president.'”

Naomi brought up how lively the event was, especially with the amount of dancing and music being played. “It was one of the most beautiful things that I’ve ever seen. This was like, one of the last big parties the Obama’s threw,” reminisced Dave before recounting these apparent ‘dirty notes.’ “I’m not going to say these celebrities’ names… There was a thing. Remember when the Trump administration moved in? They said, ‘The Obama staff left dirty notes for us and all the drawers and all the cabinets.’ Now, I saw this happen — I’m not going to say who did it — but it was celebrities was writing all this crazy shit and puttin’ ’em all over there,” Chappelle recounted. “I saw them doing it and as soon as I saw it on the news, I laughed real hard.”

Immediately after, Naomi and Dave recounted a moment in the evening where Obama vanished upstairs before making a triumphant return to the party because the music was apparently too good. According to Dave, Obama walked into the room only to greet the attendees with a dab. 

Vanessa Bryant Calls Daughter Capri “[Kobe] and Gigi’s Twin”

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On Tuesday, Vanessa Bryant posted a picture of 21-month old daughter Capri on Instagram, captioning the photo with: “It’s the KOBE stare for me. Capri Kobe … Daddy and Gigi’s twin.”

Capri is in her Easter pastel pink with face paint design on her cheek.

Vanessa also pointed out previously that Capri even walks like her late father and sister. 

Many people have commented on how strong and resilient Vanessa has appeared to be in the wake of her husband and daughter’s death last year. 

The Bryant family seems to be in high spirits lately.

Vanessa and her daughters celebrated Easter alongside Ciara and her children. Ciara and Russell Wilson hosted the holiday celebration, which was fun-filled with an Easter egg hunt, face painting, and a few egg-and-spoon races. 

Vanessa’s eldest daughter, Natalia, recently got accepted into her dream school, the University of Southern California. Vanessa gave her daughter a custom pair of Kobe Bryant signature Nikes in cardinal and gold.

Vanessa recently spoke to People magazine about raising her daughters and grief. “My girls help me smile through the pain,” Vanessa said. “They give me strength.”

Vanessa added that her children are “people that I would aspire to be if I was growing up with them.”

“I can’t say that I’m strong every day [and] I can’t say that there aren’t days when I feel like I can’t survive to the next,” she shared.

Lil Durk Reiterates His Disdain For “Snitches” & “B*tch N*ggas”

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Rappers are known for having aliases and alter egos. We have seen it since the early days of Hip-Hop when Slick Rick adopted the moniker of “Rick The Ruler,” and recently, Tyler, the Creator’s last studio album fully explored his alter ego “Igor.” Another artist who is quick to refer to himself as something other than his stage name is Lil Durk, who is known to call himself “The Voice.” 

Taking his nickname quite literally, Lil Durk proclaims that he’s “The Voice” of everyone and everything in one of his recent tweets, but he also gives a quick disclaimer. According to the Chicago rapper, there are two types of people that he could never be “The Voice” for.

“The voice of everything just not snitches and b*tch n*ggas,” Lil Durk writes in the tweet, reiterating once again his immense hatred for snitches. 

Considering his neverending beef with 6ix9ine, Durk’s tweet makes a lot of sense, and seeing that Lul Tim — the man accused of killing King Von — has been having a good time on social media after being released on bond, one can only assume that Durk may be referring to people like him when saying “b*tch n*ggas.”

In other Lil Durk news, the rapper’s forthcoming collab tape with Lil Baby seems to be coming any day now, so stay tuned to see what The Voice and The Hero have in store for us.

NLE Choppa Kicks Off Wacky New Dance Challenge

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Last week, 18-year-old Memphis rapper NLE Choppa was arrested on multiple charges for burglary, guns, and drugs. He claimed in a later statement that authorities planted some of the substances on him, setting him up to be arrested. As he fights for justice in his case, the teenaged rapper has been setting trends across social media, starting a new challenge associated with his “Beat Box (First Day Out)” freestyle.

Taking the original “Beat Box” challenge dance from SpottemGotem’s song and interpolating it into his own version of the dance, NLE Choppa tried to kick off the new “#ChoppaBeatBox” challenge. “This shit hard to do,” he wrote on TikTok, showing off the wacky new dance. Somewhat of a remixed version of the “Shoot” dance, NLE Choppa starts to convulse when the sound of bullets hits the audio. Then, he switches sides, does the “Shoot” again before convulsing a second time.

Surprisingly enough, people are already starting to adopt the trend. Choppa’s video on TikTok has over a million likes and it has been viewed over 6 million times.

@nlechoppamusic

##stitch with @cnljayyx2 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂‼️ ##choppabeatbox

♬ original sound – NLE choppa

Known for his intense dancing skills, NLE Choppa has another trend in his bag with this one. Do you think it will take off?